X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014)

When it was announced that Bryan Singer would be returning
to the X-Men franchise for the epic Days of Future Past, I was actually
a bit skeptical. Sure, he delivered the best of the franchise in X2 and
kicked off the monopoly on blockbuster theatrical releases with his formula and
style for the first X-Men, but his output since leaving the franchise
has been…less than stellar. Not to mention he was tackling one of the most
well-known and epic storylines from Marvel history. So hate me for being
skeptical, but I kind of thought that this film was going to be a clusterfuck.
Luckily, Bryan Singer and company (I have to throw out some mention to the
strong writing here) crafted a film that’s simple enough to keep the pace
moving briskly and character driven enough to make sure we actually give two
shits about the outcome of the plot. In fact, Days of Future Past is one
of the best blends of action, dramatic beats, and science fiction mumbo jumbo
that the franchise has ever seen.

Further in the future, the mutant and human struggle has
taken a dark and violent turn. Sentinels are created to hunt down mutant genes
and eradicate them and the few batches of survivors in the apocalyptic
landscape are simply fighting for survival. That’s when the remaining X-Men come
up with a plan to avoid this dark fate: send Wolverine’s (Jackman) back in time
to convince a young Charles Xavier (McAvoy) and Magneto (Fassbender) to stop
Mystique (Lawrence) from assassinating a scientist that leads to this bleak
existence.

"What's everyone looking at?"

Despite a rather lengthy set up about the bleak future and
the rise of the Sentinels that occasionally lacks a cohesive continuity to the
rest of the franchise (how is Professor X still around? When did Wolvie get his
adamantium claws back?), Days of Future Past kicks the film more towards
a character driven bulk where the basic plot then becomes ‘stop an
assassination.’ For a film dedicated to time travel and giant killer robots
that hunt out mutants with powers, the film takes an almost thriller like turn
for a majority of the flick focusing more on the youthful X-Men introduced in First
Class. Outside of Wolvie, most of the cast and characters from the previous
X-Men trilogy are glorified cameos as the film really reflects on the events of
First Class and where the characters have spiraled since then. This
allows some of the great casting from the prequel (Fassbender, McAvoy,
Lawrence) to shine even further here. Hell, McAvoy gets some very meaty
sequences to stretch his acting chops and far more than many of the other top
billed cast.

While this character driven concept (which thankfully
doesn’t necessary focus on Wolverine’s character so much since we’ve already
had two spin off films for him) does make for some great character work and
relatable moments for the audience, Days of Future Past does succeed in
being a brisk paced action flick too. While the highlight might be the
thoughtful character interactions and an intriguing plot that combines history
and science fiction, Singer and company slather the film in some impressive
action spectacle. Whether it’s the assassination attempt by Mystique, the
spectacle of seeing Magneto lift a stadium, or the scene stealing time lapse
sequence featuring the charismatic Quicksilver, it’s hard not to be entertained
by the sheer velocity of what Days of Future Past has to offer.

Now that's a man hug.

Occasionally the film baffled me with some of the details to
get the entire thing going, but once it was there I had a blast through and
through. It’s not necessarily the most logical of films, but if you’re willing
to buy into this pseudo-reboot then enjoy it for the spectacle.

Written By Matt Reifschneider

THE ROGUE CUT REVIEW:

While the core film is not altered by this 17 minute longer version of
the film, The Rogue Cut does come off as a slightly superior film thanks to more
than just a little side action from Magneto and Iceman to free Rogue.
There is a handful of new sequences and extended moments (although I
caught perhaps a dozen moments, I'm sure I couldn't name them all) that
simply deepen the characters in the film and add a bit more fun to the
mix. Sure, the titular Rogue sequence overcomes one of the bigger plot
deviations in the original cut and it adds some clarity to other issues - including how the Sentinels found our heroes in China,
but it's the other bits and pieces that make this cut better. For casual fans it's not going to make a lot of difference, but for those of us out there that have been X-Men cinephiles for quite some time it has plenty to appreciate.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Osaka Asian Film Festival 2018

Welcome To Blood Brothers!

Here at Blood Brothers we, cult fan brothers Eric and Matt, are dedicated to bringing reviews to some of the worlds best (and worst, depending on your taste) cult like films from around this large globe. Whether it be Horror, Science Fiction, Kung Fu, or any other cult like genre - we are your first and last stop for all your review needs. Unapologetically kvlt.

Feel free to comment on our reviews, we love to hear your thoughts on movies or the reviews as long as its meaningful and thought out. Any slanderous comments (for the sake of it) will be erased though, so be thoughtful with what you say.

All movie ratings out of are out of 5 BLOOD DROPS. Our blood drop rating is located at the end of our reviews.

Note: A very special thanks goes out to our friend Bill, who with his connections, technical support, and wizardry with photoshop has kept this website going. Many of the films reviewed here would never have been reviewed if it weren't for his abilities. THANKS BILL! We can never thank you enough!